City School Stories

Notes from the Field

Submitted by Frank Murphy on September 1, 2011

Today is the first day of a new contract year for Philadelphia’s schoolteachers.  They are back on the payroll after a long summer of district leadership drama and budget uncertainty.

Many of them have returned to school many days, even weeks, before their official starting date.  For much of August, teachers across the city have been preparing their classrooms for the start of a new school year.  This is work they do without administrative compulsion or monetary compensation.  It is a labor of love.

I have known many teachers during my career as an educator.  And nearly every one of them has spent much time each year preparing their classrooms for the arrival of a new group of students on the first day.  Decorating bulletin boards, arranging furniture, setting up classroom libraries and creating the most welcoming environment for their students are the things that teachers routinely do.  This is how schools prepare for a new year. Read the rest of this entry »

Notes from the Field

Submitted by Frank Murphy on August 30, 2011

In the waning days of Arlene Ackerman’s employment with the Philadelphia School District, State Senator Anthony Williams spoke out on her behalf at a School Reform Commission meeting. His praise was lavish for Ackerman’s work as Superintendent of Schools and his scorn for her critics was scathing. It is curious that Williams, one of the champions of the school choice movement, would be such a good friend of the appointed guardian of our local school system. Williams is also one of the chief proponents of legislation that would authorize the use of vouchers in Pennsylvania.

Not long after Williams’ appearance at the SRC meeting, Ackerman was given a $905,000 buyout offer.   A significant portion of this settlement was funded using money that was contributed by anonymous local business leaders.  The decision by the SRC to use $405,000 in private donations as part of the Ackerman’s severance package, has since raised serious ethical concerns.  Who are these secret donors and why were they willing to spin their own personal wealth into Arlene Ackerman’s golden parachute?  Do they expect to see something in return for their financial largeness? Read the rest of this entry »

Notes from the Field

Submitted by Frank Murphy on August 25, 2011

There are times when the statements of public officials are contradicted by their actions. In the case of former Philadelphia Superintendent of Schools Arlene Ackerman this frequently was the situation.  During the three years she worked in Philadelphia, Ackerman often proclaimed that her first priority was to address the needs of our city’s students.  At the same time she was frequently dismissive of the concerns of teachers.

Yet the needs of Dr. Ackerman were more than well attended to during her brief tenure as the superintendent of our schools.  She enjoyed a generous compensation package that included an extravagant yearly salary, large bonuses and many special perks and benefits.  To top off her Philadelphia financial windfall, she received a severance package with apparently the highest payout ever offered to a school superintendent in America.  How much she benefited economically is astounding especially when you consider that she was employed in a city where more than 25% of the population is living in poverty and the poverty rate of all children under the age of 18 in the city is 33%.  In the face of these facts, it seems hypocritical for her to claim that she selflessly gave her all to the children while taking so much from our district’s budget.  This is a fascinating example of when a person’s deeds do not match their rhetoric. Read the rest of this entry »

Notes from the Field

Submitted by Frank Murphy on August 23, 2011

The nearly constant controversy Arlene Ackerman generated during her tenure here has been an unwelcomed distraction to important issues facing the District. During Ackerman’s time in Philadelphia, the local media has published numerous stories regarding the missteps of this beleaguered school leader.  Ackerman’s story, which started out with great expectations for meaningful and much needed reform in the Philadelphia School District, has since degenerated into a melodrama nearly impossible to ignore.   And while the spotlight of public scrutiny had been intensely focused on her shortcomings, other matters of importance have slipped into shadowy obscurity.

As we approach the start of new school year, it is time to clear our heads of the media daze surrounding the final days of Arlene Ackerman in Philadelphia.  There are important issues that require our attention.  One in particular, how to deal with excess school facility space, will no doubt generate a great deal of controversy.  The  Notebook published the district’s confidential master facilities report, which suggested 84 possible action steps that could be taken in order to right size district facilities.  Preliminary information suggests that up to 50 neighborhood schools will be closed in the near future.  Should these closings become an eventuality, they will have a far greater impact on the future of the School District of Philadelphia than the departure of our current superintendent of schools.

It is time to get back on track with the management of our local school district. Read the rest of this entry »

Notes from the Field
Submitted by Ray Murphy on August 18, 2010

Making change in Philadelphia’s public schools requires a partnership between students, educators and parents. It also requires the support of the larger community of social justice supporters in our region. That’s where Bread & Roses Community Fund comes in. Bread & Roses is the region’s social justice foundation supporting grassroots community organization making change.

I wanted to share a preview from Bread & Roses’ next newsletter which is about the school-to-prison pipeline and the efforts of two grantees to stop it. Enjoy!

Did you know that only 55.5% of Philadelphia students graduate from high school? And only 49% of those graduates enroll in a 2- or 4-year degree-earning institution. What happens to the rest of Philadelphia’s public school students?

The reality is that many students end up unemployed, in dead-end jobs or incarcerated. In fact, the trend of public school students leaving school and becoming incarcerated has a name: the school-to-prison pipeline.

Accelerated schools are one of the few options available to students who have left or been pushed out of neighborhood and magnet schools but still want a degree. For many students it is the one place they are given a second chance — not only for a high school diploma but for a different kind of life.

However, when budget cuts had to be made at the School District of Philadelphia earlier this year, accelerated schooling funds were among the first on the chopping block.

Luckily, members of grantee organization Youth United for Change (YUC) stepped up to the plate to prevent these serious cuts. Holding rallies, educational forums, and attending City Council meetings, YUC managed to have City Council promise $8.2 million toward the accelerated schooling budget. This commitment means that the 13 accelerated schools in Philadelphia will be able to keep their doors open.

Alternative schools are not enough to stop the school-to-prison pipeline. That’s why Bread & Roses grantees such as Youth, Art & Self-empowerment Project (YASP) are doing their part to disrupt this cycle by organizing to end the practice of charging and convicting young people as adults. YASP is focused on repealing Act 33, which allows youth to be charged as adults for crimes including aggravated assault and robbery, and eliminating the dangerous and unnecessary pipeline to prison that it facilitates.

But YUC and YASP can’t stop the school-to-prison pipeline on their own. The reality is that we all need to commit to the fight to end the practice of unfair and unjust incarceration, and to pressure the city to live up to its promise of fully funded, effective educational practices. This is the kind of real change that Bread & Roses’ grantees and community of supporters fight for.

To learn more about Bread & Roses Community Fund, visit www.breadrosesfund.org

Notes from the Field

Submitted by Frank Murphy on August 16, 2011

A new school year is fast approaching and our city’s schools are far from ready to greet returning students.  More than one thousand teacher positions must be filled, a budget deficit has yet to be resolved, confusion is rampant and uncertainty prevails.  This state of affairs does not bode well for the future well being of our children.

Currently, Superintendent Arlene Ackerman is engaged in a bitter and divisive struggle to maintain her leadership position in Philadelphia.  A handful of Ackerman loyalists have disrupted recent SRC board meetings in an effort to demonstrate their support for her.  They do so even though Ackerman has lost the confidence and support of much of the Philadelphia community.  The actions of these few individuals are hardly a surprise.  Their protest is quite consistent with the new normal of disruptive innovation we have come to know under Ackerman’s leadership. Read the rest of this entry »

Notes from the Field

Submitted by Ian Moran, Program Manager

Education Voters of Pennsylvania

August 11,2011

Gov. Corbett and the state legislature recently passed a budget containing nearly $1 BILLION in cuts to our public schools!  This is already having a negative impact on students and communities throughout the state.  We need to tell our (or the) story of how these cuts are hurting our communities and why public education is so critical to the success of the entire state.

Education Voters Institute of Pennsylvania (EVI) is conducting a video project to highlight both the impact of cuts to critical programs that serve kids, and the importance of education to our communities and our economy. Tell us about how a program has affected you, or what the schools are like in your community, or who was the first person in your family to go to college.  It can be a video short, or just a personal story told directly into the camera.  Across Pennsylvania, students, parents, community leaders are speaking up about how we are affected by these choices.

What happened with this year’s budget was a travesty, and it didn’t need to happen.  If we’re going to overcome the same obstacles next year we need make our voices heard and start laying the groundwork for change NOW!

CLICK HERE for full details: http://www.educationvoterspa.org/index.php/video-contest/

Notes from the Field

Submitted by Frank Murphy on August 9, 2011

School district negotiators seem to be making minimal progress in achieving the goal of acquiring $75,000,000 in union contract concessions.  In dealing with an astronomical budget short fall of $629,000,000, employee givebacks are an important element in Arlene Ackerman’s plan to deal with the negative consequences of her extravagant three-year spending spree as Superintendent of Schools.  In previous posts, here and here, I have discussed her imprudent management of district funds.

It isn’t as though union leaders have been universally opposed to discussing the possibility of contract concessions as a way to help chisel away more of the district’s deficit.  Representatives of the bargaining units for district administrators and facility maintenance workers have already reached tentative agreements with district officials.  Members of these two union locals, however, have yet to approve these plans. Read the rest of this entry »

Notes from the Field

Submitted by Frank Murphy on August 4, 2011

The revelation that a handful of School District of Philadelphia principals are receiving bonuses for either helping to plan the rollout of Promise Academies or to continue as the principal of these schools for a second year has stirred another round of controversy concerning Arlene Ackerman’s effectiveness as the leader of the Philadelphia School District.

The timing of this news release couldn’t have been more inopportune for Ackerman.  This revelation was made the day before a special vote on contract givebacks was scheduled for the members of the Commonwealth Association of School Administrators (CASA).  This union, which represents school district principals and other administrators, has been considering accepting economic concessions to their negotiated agreement in order to assist in closing the School District’s gaping budget deficit.

The fact that some seemingly favored principals either had received or are slated to receive bonuses of $10,000 apparently is information that took the leadership of CASA by surprise.  As a result they have been placed in an awkward and embarrassing position.  Read the rest of this entry »

Notes From the Field

Submitted by Frank Murphy on August 2, 2011

With the start of a new school year rapidly approaching, the news coming out of the School District of Philadelphia continues to be centered on reactions to rumors about Arlene Ackerman’s imminent departure.  Will she go? Will she stay?

Pennsylvania State Representative Michael McGeehan is vocally and publically opposed to Ackerman remaining as the leader of the Philadelphia School District.  Pundits such as Phil Goldsmith, Karen Heller, John Baer, and Brian Hickey have all expressed the opinion that Arlene Ackerman has lost the confidence and good will of the Philadelphia community. On the other hand, a small group of Ackerman supporters have been publically lobbying for her to continue on as the chief school administrator until the end of her contract in 2014.

Although the proposal to accelerate Ackerman’s departure is winning growing support, there is far less of a willingness to see her benefit from a lucrative financial settlement in order to so.  (According to this report in the Philadelphia Inquirer, it may cost $1.5 million to buy out the remaining years on Ackerman’s contract.)  There are two prominent objections to a “buy out” proposition. There is the obvious concern that a district already dealing with a $629 million deficit cannot afford such a large severance payment.  Then of course is the understandable reluctance to generously reward a leader who has failed to avert a fiscal catastrophe of this magnitude in the first place.

Whether we can afford this settlement and/or even offer it in the first place are not the questions we should be considering at this point.  Instead we should be wondering whether we can afford to continue on with Arlene Ackerman. Read the rest of this entry »